By Dan Ambrose: Former WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward (28-0, 15 KOs) will be back inside the ring in two months from now on March 26 to fight his first fight his first legitimate light heavyweight in unbeaten Sullivan Barrera (17-0, 12 KOs).
The fight is said to be confirmed, according to RingTV. Earlier this month, Ward said the fight news was premature, saying on his Twitter “Premature information being leaked to the media. I don’t know who my next opponent for my next fight is. I have no contract.” However, it now appears that the Ward-Barrera fight will be taking place on March 26 on HBO at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.
It’s important that Ward take on a solid 175lb fighter like Sullivan Barrera because he needs preparation to fight IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev. That fight is supposed to take place later this year if Kovalev wins his fight this Saturday night against 33-year-old Jean Pascal at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada.
Ward fought at light heavyweight in his last bout seven months ago in June of 2015 against a soft looking super middleweight Paul Smith. That wasn’t a light heavyweight that Ward was fighting, and it was hardly useful for him to get ready to fight the best fighters in the 175lb division. Ward would have been better off skipping the Smith fight and choosing a fringe contender from the light heavyweight division to fight instead.
Ward was supposed to have fought last November on the Saul “Canelo” Alvarez vs. Miguel Cotto undercard, but he pulled out of the card due to a knee injury.
Ward has fought only once in the past two and a half years. He’s missed out on many fights due to the combination promotional problems, injuries, and top fighters wanting nothing to do with him in the 168lb division.
Now with Roc Nation Sports as his promoter and fighting in the light heavyweight division, Ward is hoping for a new start. He could make himself as an even bigger star in this division than he was in the super middleweight division. However, for that to happen, Ward will need to beat Kovalev and then defeat WBC champion Adonis Stevenson.
It’s highly unlikely Ward would ever get a chance to fight Stevenson, but there’s a chance. Stevenson is in his own lane with Al Haymon managing him, and I think it’s one of those situations where Stevenson is on the other side of the fence and untouchable for guys like Ward and Kovalev. They can’t beat him if they’re not given the opportunity to fight him. Stevenson fights on Showtime, which makes it even more of a problem for Ward and Kovalev to one-day fight him. It’s likely that they’ll never get a chance to face him.
Ward recently signed a 3-fight deal with HBO. The Barrera fight will be the first fight. If HBO can get Ward to fight Barrera, Kovalev and Stevenson in his three fights with them in this contract, they would be getting great value. But even if they don’t get a Ward-Stevenson fight, they would still be getting great value if Ward fights Barrera and Kovalev. If Ward could finish up his contract with a fight against the likes of Artur Beterbiev or Andrzej Fonfara, HBO would be getting a great deal.
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